Elysian Space Navy
Elysian Space Navy, or ESN, was the name given to the collection of prizes staffed by prisoners from Havenite planetary prison Hades. The Elysian Space Navy was naval branch of anti-Havenite forces in the Cerberus System. Creation The Elysian Space Navy was a pickup fleet. It was composed of Havenite ships captured in 1913 PD by prisoners from the Hades, the Republic of Haven's planetary prison.They earlier captured by force the StateSec planetary headquarters and system defence control.. The main aim of the Elysian Space Navy was evacuation of all the prisoners interested in escaping from Hades. It was also required to capture the transport ships in the first place, and fought one extensive engagement against a force organized by StateSec to recover Hades. In Old Earth Greek mythology, the Elysian Fields were the portion of the Underworld (Hades) designated as the final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous, thus the name was suggested for the fleet by one of the escaped prisoners, Jesus Ramirez. ( ) Organization Legal status Anti-Havenite forces in the Cerberus System, as well as the Elysian Space Navy, were provisional organizations of POWs from the Manticoran Alliance, present in the Hades planetary prison. Non-allied volunteers presence there was significant, but supplementary only. A collection of ships, captured in the Cerberus System, was claimed as prizes before Havenite side. Its legal status as prizes was confirmed according to Grayson law, when the hardware finally was bought by the Protector of Grayson. On the basis of the Grayson constitution there was also a controversy concerning organization by Steadholder Harrington of a military force stronger than 50 armsmen. Steadholder Harrington acted in her capacity as an Admiral in the Grayson Space Navy. It seems the main element of the controversy was fact, that the Elysian Space Navy would have been considered as newly created organization, outside of GSN Admiral's powers. :See also: Personnel of the Elysian Space Navy#Legal status Personnel The personnel of the Elysian Space Navy generally were taken from members of Manticoran Alliance forces. They were supported by members of military forces defeated during The People's Republic of Haven's expansion. :Main article: Personnel of the Elysian Space Navy Ships acquisition The ESN was built from captured Havenite ships, and consisted of 11 warships and 7 transports: * captured single StatSec warships: ** Mars-class heavy cruiser [[ENS Krashnark|PNS Krashnark]] ** Frigate-class light cruiser [[ENS Bacchante|PNS Bacchante]] * captured ships of the Shilo Force expedition: ** five Warlord-class battlecruisers: PNS Wallenstein, PNS Farnese, PNS Kutuzov, PNS MacArthur, PNS Barbarosa ** three Mars B-class heavy cruisers: PNS Ares, PNS Huan-Ti, PNS Ishtar ** Frigate-class light cruiser PNS Sabine ** five Longstop-class transports, including: ''Mardi Gras'' and ''Voyager'' * two Roughneck-class Fast Attack Transports from StateSec General Chernock's joint task group Order of battle Against the Shilo Force Senior officer in space, second in command - Commodore Jesus Ramirez * [[ENS Krashnark|ENS Krashnark]] - CO, Captain (SG) Alistair McKeon * [[ENS Bacchante|ENS Bacchante]] - CO, Captain Harriet Benson The main unit used to overpower StateSec expedition was Charon Control however - CO, Commander Susan Phillips. Admiral Harrington issued her orders during operation exactly from that place. First evacuation flight Captain Cynthia Gonsalves commanding: * [[ENS Sabine|ENS Sabine]] - CO, Captain Cynthia Gonsalves * five ''Longstop''-class transports Battle of Cerberus :See: Battle of Cerberus#ESN Operational history Capture of StateSec Shilo Force Havenite Office of State Security planned to fortify and pacify the reconquered Seabring Systemwith the equivalent of two divisions worth of intervention battalions supported by full combat equipment, including battle armor, assault boats and heavy tanks. Expedition to Seabring was planned to load in Hades 70 thousand prisoners for forced labor during the fortification works. Its last stop before Cerberus System was the Shilo System, where expedition was strengthened with some warships and cargo. On October 12, 1913 PD the StateSec expedition entered parking orbit over Hades. The convoy was ordered by Charon Control to drop its impeller wedges and shields. When a demand for surrender was transmitted, the CO of BC PNS Attila attempted to respond and the ship was destroyed by the orbital defenses. The explosion resulted in the near total destruction of two other warships - CA PNS Hachiman and CL PNS Seahorse. The rest of the convoy remained spaceworthy5 battlecruisers, 3 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser and 5 military transports. Battle of Cerberus :See: Battle of Cerberus Evacuation of prisoners :See: Anti-Havenite Forces in the Cerberus System#Evacuation of prisoners * Sep 22, 1913 PD - three evacuation lists were started to complete by the ground branchthree weeks before the Shilo Force arrival * Oct 14, 1913 PD - the first evacuation flight departed from the Cerberus System10 days before the Battle of Cerberus (HH8) - three days after the ships of the Shilo Force were captured * Oct 24, 1913 PD - Battle of Cerberus - two more transport ships were seized2 years and 1 day from the disaster in the Adler Stystem (HH8) * Nov 24, 1913 PD - main forces of the Elysian Space Navy arrived in the Trevor's Star System24 days shiptime were equal to 30 dirtside days, plus at least one day for upload of passengers (HH8, HH9) with over 106 000 people * Dec 3, 1913 PD - first evacuation flight - expected arrival date to Trevor's Star50 base days with over 286 000 people Controversy Honor Harrington organized the ESN using her Grayson rank of Admiral. As such, her command of the fleet was a prima facie violation of the Grayson Constitution: only the Protector was allowed to organize military forces beyond the 50 armsmen permitted each Steadholder. In order to solve the problem, Protector Benjamin IX took the ESN into the Grayson Space Navy as a whole, turning it into the Protector's Own Squadron and appointing Admiral Harrington, the Protector's Champion, as its permanent commander. ( ) References Category:Elysian Space Navy Category:Military